Nose and Mouth

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Anchor lead: Where Sars-CoV2 enters the body should be covered by a mask, Elizabeth Tracey reports

Many more receptors for Sars-CoV2 are found in the part of the nose where smell takes place than elsewhere, research by Andrew Lane, an otolaryngologist at Johns Hopkins and colleagues has shown, and it may be that’s the primary place the virus infects us. Lane says that has clear implications for mask-wearing.

Lane: If the virus does in fact start in the nose or end up in the nose or that’s a place where even if you had no other symptoms that the virus might be located, it makes sense that when you breath out through your nose you maybe could potentially be spreading the virus. So therefore more for other people not necessarily for you you need to cover your nose and not just your mouth to prevent spread. And that’s the way to wear a mask anyway it’s not as though this is some new way to wear a mask. The proper way to wear a mask is to cover your nose and your mouth.    :25

So if you’re one of those people who sling your mask under your nose reconsidering this practice would most likely help others. Lane notes that with the plethora of masks of varying materials available, finding one that is comfortable and covers both nose and mouth should be straightforward. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.